EDF messed up direct debit - now in arrears - compensation?

scottishkat

We moved house in October last year and changed the energy supplier shortly after to EDF. The told us they would be taking a direct debit out of £86 for both gas and electricity. We have paperwork to that effect. This week I received a letter from them saying they made a mistake and have only been collecting £5 for electricity so we are now £341 in arrears. They even had the cheek to ask if we would like to pay it all at once :mad:
Money is very tight at the moment and trying to conjure up that extra money, even if it is spread over a year or so, is stressing me out. I want to complain and ask for compensation for their mistake but would I just be wasting time and energy?

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

If money is so tight, how come you didn't notice you were £81 richer every month?

edf will normally allow you to pay off the debt over the period it accrued, in this instance 5/6 months. As for compensation - they may give you a goodwill payment (£20-50 perhaps), but this is at their discretion.

macman

Why would you get compensation for them providing you with interest free credit for five months?
As above, negotiate a payback over the accrual period.

matelodave

If they were only taking £5 a month and you were expecting £86 to go out then by my reckoning you should have between £400 and £500 sitting in the bank ready to pay the bill.

Why should you get any compensation when you've had the opportunity to get interest on the money.

If you haven't got the money in the bank then you've obviously spent it, that's not EDF's fault, it's yours for not checking your bills or bank account. You cannot blame someone else for not keeping an eye on your own finances and then expecting compensation because you were too lazy to do it yourself.

Money-Saving-King

scottishkat wrote: »

compensation

The new swear word beginning with C.

No you don't deserve it.

dogshome

Make an offer to repay the debt monthly, at a rate you can afford
If you don't get co-operation from the Customer Service desk, insist that they put you through to a manager.

When the deal has been struck, make sure you keep to it because if you miss a payment, EDF will go immediately into serious Debt Collection Mode, also insist that EDF confirm the deal in writeing
It's not uncommon for suppliers to agree verbal deals on debt, then after a few months hand the problem staight over to a Debt Collection Agency despite the customer haveing adhered to the terms